Hyatt comes out swinging. How will Marriott, IHG, and Hilton respond?

8

Wait a minute… what is Greg doing writing this Week in Review post? Isn’t that Nick’s job?  Why yes it is… usually.  But last weekend, Nick’s wife celebrated Labor Day weekend by going into labor.  And… it’s a boy!  Nick is taking off the month of September to kick back and enjoy the relaxation that inevitably comes with a newborn baby.  So, until we get Nick’s first son spun up on the intricacies of blogging, Stephen and I are doing our best to keep the FM wheels in motion.

a baby lying in a crib holding a phone
Nick’s firstborn son has been catching up on Frequent Miler posts with the goal of taking over Nick’s day to day blogging responsibilities until the newborn is old enough to fend for himself.

Fortunately for us, Nick dropped by work for an hour or so to record the latest episode of Frequent Miler on the Air.  This episode’s main event is Hyatt’s amazing fourth quarter promotion.  Of course, we also dipped into the giant mailbag, covered Citi’s latest shenanigans, evaluated a mattress run opportunity, roasted posts, and bantered about whatever came to mind.  Watch it here:

FM on the Air Podcast

For those who would rather listen than watch, the audio of our weekly broadcast is available on all popular podcast platforms, including:

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You can even listen right here in this browser:

This week at Frequent Miler

Chase Sapphire: What’s Next? (On My Mind)

Sapphire Reserve vs Preferred

Now that , the Sapphire Preferred card is looking old and tired with its 2X travel and dining.  Even the Sapphire Reserve card has lost its luster with 3X travel and dining.  This is especially true since the new Freedom categories overlap with the Sapphire ones.  With the Freedom Unlimited or new Freedom Flex, you can get 5X travel (booked through Chase) and 3X dining.  And they threw in 3X drugstore for good measure.  That’s a problem for the Sapphire lineup.  In this article I give my best advice to Chase as to what they should do to refresh their Sapphire cards.

Click here to read the full article.

How to earn airline elite status without flying

a seat with plastic bags and a plastic bag inside

American Airlines is going to make basic economy a better experience for elite members, but they’re going to stop counting basic economy towards gaining elite status.  In this post, I consider the possibility that Delta and United will follow AA’s lead.  If so, it will be more valuable than ever before to earn elite status without flying, so that you can enjoy perks when you do… even when flying basic economy.

Click here to read the full article.

Best ways to fly to Hawaii from the US mainland

a rocky shore with waves crashing on the rocks
View from O’heo Gulch, Maui

Motivated by the news that United plans to add flights between the continental US and Hawaii, Africa, and India, I decided that it was time to update this post which details the best ways to book flights to Hawaii with miles or with cash.  Book now.  Travel later.

Click here to read the full article.

Hilton Credit Card Comparison. Which is best?

a pool with a deck and chairs on the side

Amex issues four different Hilton cards and they often have great welcome bonuses.  Are any of them worth keeping?  In this post I looked at the cards side by side to determine which is best.

Click here to read the full article.

Updated resources

The deal of the week

a swimming pool with umbrellas and chairs on a beach

Hyatt has served up three overlapping deals.  All three are noteworthy on their own, but they’re even better together:

More noteworthy deals

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AlexL

Congraz to Nick and your wife. The first thing I think of is “Is Conrad’s younger brother St. Regis?”

Last edited 4 years ago by AlexL
PAULA C WALKER

Congratulations to Nick and the whole Reyes family!

Sandy

Congratulations Reyes family!!! Hang in there with sleepless nights!

CaveDweller

Congratulations a future Yacht club member I hope.
#stayincave

Tricia

Congratulations to Nick and family!

KRTX

Congratulations Nick and family!

Dee

Congratulations to the Reyes family!